A RISING rap star was wrongly locked up for nine months - over a robbery he did not commit. Bol Joseph who performs by the name of Joe Black, was accused by police of being responsible for robbing a security van.

Mr Joseph, who has performed at the Emirates Stadium and the Shepherd's Bush Empire, and whose songs have received airplay on Radio 1Xtra, Kiss FM and Choice FM, is now desperate to rebuild his reputation.

Mr Joseph said: “I was wrongfully arrested. The robbery didn't have anything to do with me. The police had an operation on my brother for cash-in-transit robberies. But when they came to my house, they also arrested me, charged me and took me to court.”

“I was in prison for nine months on remand waiting for my case. People might think I did something and that's why I went to jail. It's damaged my reputation.”

A besotted Leeds woman who made two hoax bomb calls about Heathrow airport in a bid to stop her boyfriend being deported has been jailed for six months.

Elizabeth Mack, 57, of Wolseley Road, Burley, Leeds, agreed to make the calls during a conversation with her then lover Natig Karimov, who was being deported to his native Azerbaijan, from the airport.

Judge Martin Edmunds said: ”You are an intelligent woman, you had become committed very heavily to Mr Karimov and you had pursued a whole series of entirely legal means to endeavour to prevent his deportation.”

TWO men, one of whom suffered permanent scars, were subjected to a horrific attack in St Albans over the weekend.

Police have appealed for information after the men, aged in their 20s, were approached by a gang of four to six black men who assaulted the pair in Victoria Street, near the bridge, on Saturday at 3.10am.

One of the main attackers is described as being black, six foot tall, aged in his early to mid 20s, of a skinny build.

East London: Plans to Turn Victorian School into 8-Storey Mosque Hit by Listing

DEVELOPERS wanting to demolish a former East End school to make way for an eight-storey mosque could be forced to withdraw their plans after the building was listed by English Heritage.

Tower Hamlets council gave the go-ahead earlier this year for the Victorian building in Bigland Street which is home to the Darul Ummah Community Centre to be torn down and replaced by an eight-storey building.

The centre which also houses the private Muslim boys' school Jamiatal Ummah would move into the new building which will also be used as a mosque and house funeral facilities.

But developers will now have to go back to the drawing board after the former Lower Chapman Street Board School which was designed in 1873 was declared a grade II listed building.

Thames Valley Police in Milton Keynes is appealing for witnesses after a grandmother was assaulted.

A woman was walking back from the local shops in Conniburrow with her neighbour’s grandchildren when one of the children, a 12-year-old boy, shouted at a man who he believed was dealing drugs. A verbal altercation took place and the offender chased the group back to the children’s grandmother’s house.

The 59-year-old grandmother, who is suffering from a brain tumour, came out of the house to defend her grandson and the offender assaulted the woman by punching her in the face, knocking her to the floor.

The victim was taken to Milton Keynes General Hospital for treatment. The offender is black, aged between 25 and 35, 6ft and of muscular build.

ROMANIANS living in Oxford have reacted angrily following comments by police about gangs of muggers in the city centre.

In an article in the Oxford Mail on Friday,Thames Valley Police said teams of “Romanian women” were coming to Oxford to beg for money.

They described them as being “dressed in fairly typical Romanian clothing, long flowing skirts, long hair and most of them tend to be quite chunky”.

But George Gazdeanu, 33, who has lived in Oxford for three-and-half years, said the comments were unfair. “These are not Romanian people the police are talking about, these are Roma gipsies. And they are a completely different people.”

A Tory councillor who was suspended from his party for making a remark about "limpwristed boys" on Facebook joined Liverpool's first Pride this weekend.

Denis Knowles, a councillor for Seacombe, was cleared of homophobia after apologising for the comment about gay Labour activists in March.

At the time, Labour MPs Angela Eagle and Harriet Harman called for him to be sacked.

Mr Knowles joined Saturday's parade, marching with HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and LGBTory. He wore a t-shirt with THT's logo. "I was made up to be able to join the march. I have plenty of gay friends.”

AN ALCOHOLIC man has been sentenced to seven years in jail for beating and setting fire to a 64-year-old cancer victim. Winston Miller, of Edward Street, Deptford, drank six or seven cans of strong lager before his assault on long-standing friend Maureen Edwards.

Prosecutor David Ross said: “After further discussion between them his mood turned violent and he began to use his fists to punch her in the face and head.” After pushing his victim back in the chair she asked to go to the toilet but Miller refused to let her, leading to the woman wetting herself and coughing up blood.

The court heard he then told her “you’re going to die” before grabbing her throat and starting to throttle her. He left but returned to the flat later, kicking down the front door and taking a lighter to Ms Edwards’ hair. Mr Ross said: “Her hair actually caught fire and she had to put it out with her hands. She was terrified that he would do something much worse to her.”

A Shipley man has been banned from keeping dogs for five years after he admitted cruelty to two Akitas.

Mohammed Khalique, 30, of Beamsley Road, failed to provide adequate care for a skin condition between January 2 and 23, which left eight-year-old Sisquo with scabs, weeping sores and mites living in upper layers of his skin, Bradford Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.

The skin condition also resulted in weight loss which left the dog at 38.4kg, when he should have weighed 50kg, prosecutor Nigel Monaghan told the court. His skin condition, and bad temperament, led to his being put down after he was discovered by RSPCA inspectors.

Depressing round up but it helps to waken people up. As for the black pride carnival mentioned there im offering two to one that if we organised a white pride carnival wed be looking at a few years free bed and board

Depressing round up but it helps to waken people up. As for the black pride carnival mentioned there im offering two to one that if we organised a white pride carnival wed be looking at a few years free bed and board

Yes but it's Black 'gay' Pride. I don't think we want our own version of that. *insert vomit emoticon*